Sailor Moon-The Gilded Rose saga
by Eugol Dlareg
Summary: A mysterious figure comes to the aid of the Sailor Scouts. But is he friend or foe?
1. Enter the Gilded Rose

Enter the Gilded Rose  
by Eugol Dlareg  
  
  
Disclaimer: With the exception of Gilded Rose I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to someone in Japan, however, their "American" (Canadian) names belong to DiC/Cloverway. I do not intend to make any money off this story.  
  
Sadisa had been a formidable foe. The Sailor Scouts were up against a wall. Defeat seemed ineviatable. "Any ideas?" Sailor Mercury asked nobody in particular.  
  
"You mean besides letting this thing kick our asses up one side and back down the other?" asked Sailor Mars. "Other than that, I can't think of anything else.  
  
Sailor Moon had already decided to take off the kid gloves, so to speak. Holding up her magic scepter, she started to call out, "Moon spiral, heart. . . " a shot from Sadisa stopped her in her tracks, knocking her back.  
  
"Sailor Moon!" the other Sailor Scouts yelled in unison, as they attempted to regroup. Another shot from Sadisa sent the rest of the scouts reeling  
  
Sadisa sensed the Sailor Scouts were sufficiently weakened, so he started to move in for the kill. Just as he was about to take another shot at the scouts, a gilded rose flew in out of nowhere and landed at his feet.  
  
Sailor Moon recovered in time to see the gilded rose, and the next thing she saw was a dark blur, as Sadisa reeled back, the recipient of several quick hits. "That's not Tuxedo Mask's style," she thought to herself.  
  
She found out soon enough why the mysterious attack was not the style of Tuxedo Mask. After getting a few shots on Sadisa, the mysterious figure assumed a battle position in front of the Sailor Scouts. The figure was wearing a knee-length black hooded robe, with the hood down, a black full-head mask, and black boots, and was carrying a 6' long black staff. From what the Scouts could see of the figure, it was apparently male. He picked up the rose with one end of the staff, and flung it in the air. As he caught it, he finally spoke. "If you wish to harm the Sailor Scouts," he said, "you have to go through me first." The figure then pressed a gold spot in the middle of his staff, and it retracted to about 8" in length. He placed the staff in a sheaf on his belt, and then put his hood on, and disappeared.  
  
Sailor Moon saw that sadisa was still reeling from the attack from the mysterious figure, so she moved in for the kill. "Moon spiral, Heart Attack!" she said, as she vanquished the creature. As Sadisa went down for the count, a red rose landed at the feet of the Sailor Scouts. "He usually shows up during the battle, not after," Sailor Moon thought to herself.  
  
"Sorry I missed the excitement," Tuxedo Mask said. "But I wanted to see how our new friend would fare in battle. By the looks of things, he did quite well."  
  
Just then, a gilded rose landed at the feet of Sailor Jupiter. She picked it up, and noticed there was a note attached to it. The note read:  
  
_To Serena, Raye, Amy, Lita, Mina, and Darrien  
anyone wishing to bring harm to any or all of you will first have to go through me. This is my solemn vow to all of you, in the name of the Soverign Protectorate.  
~Gilded Rose  
  
_Later that day, the scouts, in their civilian identities, were at Raye's grandfather's temple, where they usually had study group, discussing the events of their last battle. "He knows who we are," Raye said. "We know absolutely nothing about him. How do we know if he's an ally or an enemy?"  
  
"Oh, he's definitely an ally," Artemis, Mina's cat explained. "He took a vow in the name of the Soverign Protectorate. The Soverign Protectorate is a band of warriors sworn to protect Queen Serenity at all costs, including death."  
  
"And when the Negaverse first invaded the Moon Kingdom," Luna, Serena's cat continued. "The Protectorate knew the Kingdom was going to fall, so they did the only thing they could do. They fought to the death. Before they did, they chose one of their numbers to survive, to protect the Sailor Scouts and the Moon Princess. The one chosen was Gilded Rose."  
  
At that moment, a man in his early 20s entered the room where the scouts were discussing the events. He was wearing a black tank top, black trenchcoat, black leather pants, and black boots. Without saying a word, he placed a gilded rose on the table, threw the scouts a salute, and left. "That was him," Lita said. "He knows who we are, now we know who is."  
  
"At least whe know who's side he's on," Serena said.   
  
"Ours," replied Mina.  
  
Outside, the mysterious figure stood, looking at the temple. "I will protect you at all costs," he said. "Even my life."  
  
  



	2. Revelations

Sailor Moon-Revelations  
By Eugol Dlareg  
  
A little bit of legal-type stuff: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any of her friends, with the exception of Gilded Rose. Someone living in Japan has that honor. Neither do I own the "American" identities of the characters. I think either DiC and/or Cloverway owns them, or is it that company in Canada who does the English dub? I'm not sure, but I do know who doesn't own them: me. Just as well, as I am not writing this story for any sort of financial gain. _The lyrics used are from the song _Kyrie _which was written by Richard Page, Steven George, and John Lang. _Cracker Jacks are property of Frito-Lay's.  
  
Note: this story begins ninety minutes after the end of my previous Sailor Moon story, _Enter the Gilded Rose._. If you haven't read that story, I suggest you do.   
  
Another note: I changed the spelling of Raye's name to Rae on purpose, due to the fact that I personally prefer that particular spelling.   
  
Amy Anderson came home from Rae's, and noticed something different. She heard some unfamiliar music coming from the spare room. She noticed that the song was synthesizer-heavy, and she could make out some of the lyrics. The lyrics went:  
_Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel.  
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night.   
Kyrie eleison, where I'm going will you follow?   
Kyrie Eleison, on a highway in the light. _  
  
It was then that she noticed _him_. He was talking to Amy's mother. "I really appreciate you hosting me, Dr. Anderson," he said. He was dressed differently than when Amy had seen him at Raye's. He was wearing a black tank top, and black denim shorts, and was barefoot. Amy noticed that he had blond hair in a mullet style cut.   
  
"Oh, Amy," Dr. Anderson told her daughter. "This is Jake Slater, the foreign exchange student I told you I was going to host this year."  
  
"Nice to meet you," Amy said, pretending that she hadn't seen him before.  
  
"Same here," Jake said, pretending he had never seen her, either.   
  
"I have to do a late shift tonight," Dr. Anderson said. "I'll be back later tonight."  
  
"Okay," Amy answered.  
  
When Dr. Anderson left, Jake's mood changed slightly. "Okay," he said. "Let's cut the pretending, Sailor Mercury." He emphasised the name of Amy's heroic identity. "I know who you and your friends are, and I am pretty sure that you know that I am Gilded Rose. I also know you keep your identities secret, and as long as you keep mine secret, I'll keep your's secret."  
  
"What about the other Sailor Scouts?" she asked.  
  
"Go ahead and tell them," he said. "Allies need not keep secrets from each other."  
  
The next day, the scouts met at Rae's. "You're not going to believe this," Amy said. "You know that guy who saved us yesterday?"  
  
"Gilded Rose?" Asked Lita. "What about him?"  
  
"Well, remember I asid that my mom was going to host a foreign exchange student? Well, guess who the foreign exchange student happened to be."  
  
"You don't mean. . ?" Serena asked.   
  
"Gilded Rose is living with you?" Mina asked.   
  
"Not only that," Amy said. "But he knows who we are."  
  
"Who's Gilded Rose?" Rini, who had just returned from the future that morning, asked.  
  
"One of our closest allys," answered Artemis. "He came to the assistance of the Sailor Scouts yesterday."  
  
"I think he's cute," Lita said.   
  
On their way home, Serena and Rini stopped by the market and ran into Darrien and Jake.   
  
"Oh, Jake, this is my future wife and daughter," Darrien said when he saw Serena and Rini. Rini shot Darrien a half puzzled/half angry look.  
  
"It's nice to meet you," Jake said, as a pair of gilded roses appeared in his hand. He gave one each to Serena and Rini. In a quieter voice, he added "I'm sure your friend Sailor Mercury told you I was staying with her and her mother while I'm living here."   
  
Rini looked at the rose Jake had given her. "You're not. . . ," she asked.  
  
"Yes, Sailor Mini-Moon," he answered. "I'm Gilded Rose. I'm one of the best friends you will have in this or any other century."   
  
After a few minutes, the four of them left the market. Serena, Rini, and Darrien went off in one direction, and Jake went off in the opposite direction. A block away from the market, Jake made his staff materialize from nowhere. He twirled it over his head a couple of times, and the staff grew to 10'. He then got a running start, and used the staff to vault into the air. The staff disappeared, and Jake covered a dozen or more blocks in a single leap. For the rest of the day, the topic of discussion in Neo-Tokyo was the sight of a man flying through the air.  
  
He landed a block from the Anderson home, where he encountered Amy and Lita. The two girls had obviously seen the tail end of his flight. "I didn't know you could fly in your civilian identity," Amy told him.  
  
"I wasn't flying," he replied. "It was more like pole vaulting. I got about, by my estimate, thirteen blocks. Sure saves a lot of wear and tear on the ol' shoe leather." At that moment, he noticed Lita's fingernails were painted a kind of bluish burgundy. "I didn't know they sold Cat Scratch Fever here," he said.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Lita asked.   
  
"Your nail polish," he answered. "The color's called Cat Scratch Fever. I'd recognize it anywhere. My fiancee has it copyrighted."  
  
"You have a fiancee?" Lita asked, slightly dejected.  
  
"Yeah," he replied, pulling out his wallet, and pulling out a picture of himself and a red haired girl his age. The two of them are standing in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle in Disneyland. "That's Rhiannon and I at Disneyland, about a week before I got here."  
  
"Rhiannon," said Amy. "That's a pretty name, for an unusual one."  
  
"Isn't that the name of a song?" Lita asked.  
  
"Well," Jake answered. "Her parents met at a Fleetwood Mac concert."  
  
"She's pretty," Lita said. "She's a lucky girl to have you."  
  
Lita gave Jake back the picture, and left. Amy and Jake continued the last block to the Anderson residence. "She thinks you're cute," Amy told Jake when they reached the front door."  
  
"I figured that out," he told her. "Even if I wasn't engaged, it wouldn't work out."  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"Well," he said. "It's a cultural thing. Here in Neo-Tokyo, it may be okay for a guy my age to date a girl your age, but back in Mission Viejo, California,it's wrong, and in some cases, a misdemeanor. The funny thing, if we were five years older, the age difference wouldn't matter much."  
  
"So a 19 year old girl and a 26 year old guy wouldn't be a problem, but a 14 year old girl and a 21 year old guy would?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," he answered. "To most people. It still wouldn't work for me, though. I never really was interested in younger girls. It might sound funny, but one of the things that first attracted me to Rhiannon was the fact that she's a year older than I am. You might think it's strange, having the woman be older than the man, but one of the things we have in common is that we both have mothers who are older than our fathers."  
  
Later that evening, Jake had made a large tub of Snacker Jax, a concoction of his similar to Cracker Jacks, except it contained pecans, apple chips, and cashews in addition to popcorn, peanuts, and melted caramel. He and Amy were sitting down for a game of chess, when Dr. Anderson came home. She was obviously tired, having just worked a long shift at the hospital. "Something smells good," she said.  
  
"Oh that," Jake replied. "Just a little something I whipped up. I just popped some popcorn, and added peanuts, pecans, apple chips, and cashews, and poured melted caramel over it. I call it Snacker Jax. Try some."  
  
Dr. Anderson took some. "This is good," she said. "Thanks." She left the room.  
  
Forty-five minutes later, Amy and Jake were nearing the end of their chess game. Amy had been playing like a master, while Jake's style was a little more erratic, occasionally showing a hint of having a grasp of the game, but mostly playing like a beginner. Or so it seemed. Amy had moved her last pawn, and Jake had moved his bishop and captured the pawn, putting it position to capture the king. "Check," he said. She moved her king one space to the left, and Jake cracked a little smile as he moved his rook into striking position. "Checkmate," he said.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Blackmange

Blackmange  
by Eugol Dlareg  
  
**I don't want to get sued, so I'm putting this in:**_I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters. Toei/Bandai/ owns them, and their North American names are owned by DiC/Cloverway. Donald Duck is owned by Disney.  
**Timeframe: two weeks after **_Revelations._  
_Jake Slater was in a good mood after his first week of classes at Naoko Takeuchi University. He had been looking forward to studying in Japan. He was walking through Edo park, which was a sort of haven for NTU students, due to its proximity to the campus. He sat on a bench, took out his sketchbook and a pencil, and began to sketch a nearby tree. He took off his glasses as Mina Aino came up behind him.. "Is this seat taken?" she asked.  
  
"Have a seat, Mina," he said.  
  
Mina sat down. "So how do you like Japan so far?" she asked.  
  
"It's okay," he said. "It's a lot different than Mission Viejo. I was surprised, for example, to find out that restauraunts here have smoking sections. In California, I can almost count the places where you can legally smoke in public on one hand. And don't get me started on having to wear a uniform to school. I was in high school when they started making kids wear uniforms, and that was grammar school at first. At least the uniform my sister wore didn't look like something Donald Duck would wear."  
  
"Donald Duck?" Mina asked.  
  
"You know," Jake answered. "Sailor suits. My sister had to wear a white polo shirt and either khakis or a tan skirt." He noticed an odor that did not belong in the park. Taking a sniff, he made a golden rose appear in his hand. "Brimstone," he told Mina. "Take cover." Throwing the rose to the ground at his feet, it became a golden mist, and when it dissapated, Jake was transformed into Gilded Rose. He turned around to see a white haired old man in black robes and a white beard standing in the park. The man had his right hand in a fist, and black fire was coming out of his fist. "I thought I smelled your stench, Blackmange," Jake told the old man.  
  
"That's not the way to greet an old friend," Blackmange said.  
  
"Old friends don't try to crucify each other," Jake said. "Or have you forgot our last meeting?"  
  
Meanwhile, Mina hid in a bush to contact the other scouts. "Guys htis is Mina," she said. "Trouble in Edo Park, one of Jake's enemies. I'll transform and help him until you guys get here." Mina got out her transformer wand. "Venus star power!" she said as she transformed into Sailor Venus. As Venus joined the battle, Blackmange fired a black fireball at Jake. "Venus love chain, encircle!" Venus said, as she used her attack to deflect the attack.  
  
Jake threw a golden rose at Blackmange, which exploded at his feet. As he was staggered by the attack, Jake ran at him, and halfway, he used his staff to launch himself at Blackmange, hitting him with a flying dropkick. As Blackmange turned around to attack, he saw the rest of the Sailor Scouts standing behind Gilded Rose. "I don't know who you are," Sailor Moon said.  
  
"Blackmange," Gilded Rose said. "His name is Blackmange."  
  
"Well, Blackmange," Sailor Moon continued. "You don't attack my friends. I am the champion of love, and justice. I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon, I shall punish you!"  
  
"I'm scared," Blackmange said, sarcastically.  
  
"You should be," Gilded Rose said, as his staff shrunk from its usual 6' length to 12". He pressed a gold dot in the middle of the staff, and a gold beam of light, about 30" long came out of one end. He rushed at Blackmange, who transformed the black flame in his right hand into a sword of black flame. The two blades met and the combatants fought with a fury the Scouts weren't aware that Jake was capable of. After a few minutes, Blackmange knowcked the sword out of Gilded Rose's hands, and was moving in for the kill.  
  
A red rose came out of nowhere and struck Blackmange in the hand. Gilded Rose used this distraction to retrieve his sword. He retracted the light blade, and restored the staff to its fighting length. "Is this a private party, or can I drop in?" asked Tuxedo Mask.  
  
"Why don't you join us?" Gilded Rose replied, and soon, the whole team was assembled. He glanced at Rae. "How about fighting fire with fire?" he asked.  
  
Sailor Mars agreed. "Mars celestial fire, surround!" she said as she attacked Blackmange. The attack staggered him slightly, and Jake ran to Tuxedo Mask.  
  
"I want you to position yourself about ten feet behind Sailor Moon, and kneel," Gilded Rose said.  
  
Why?" Tuxedo Mask asked.  
  
"Because I'm going to jump off your shoulders," Gilded Rose explained. "The only way I can finish him off is to use my Gold Rush attack, and I need to launch myself off someone to do it."  
  
By this time, the other scouts had attacked Blackmange, and Sailor Moon was ready to go in for the kill. Holding her scepter, she said "Moon spiral, heart attack!"  
  
Blackmange held out his hand and deflected the attack. When he did, Gilded Rose handed Mini-Moon one of his golden roses. "Hold this to your scepter and attack him. It won't destroy him, but will keep him distracted long enough for me to take care of him." He then placed another gold rose at one end of his staff, and twirled it, and the staff was now 30" long with the rose at one end. He then got a running start, and leapt at a tree, bounced off, and landed about 20 meters behind Tuxedo Mask.  
  
Sailor Mini-Moon held her scepter and the gold rose in one hand, and attacked Blackmange. "Pink sugar, heart attack!" she said, as a gold beam came from her scepter, and held Blackmange at bay.  
  
While Mini-Moon was holding Blackmange at bay, Gilded Rose got a running start, and vaulted over Tuxedo Mask's shoulders. At the apex of his flight, he yelled "Gold Rush!" and flew at Blackmange, firing bolts of gold energy at him. After several bolts, he fired the rose from his staff, and it went through Blackmange. Blackmange screamed, and disappeared in a black flame, to be replaced by a small china statue, about 3" tall. Gilded Rose landed in a kneeling position about a meter from where Blackmange was, and rolled over to where the small china statue now stood. He stood up, and crushed the statue under his boot. "That takes care of him," he said, as the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask gathered around Gilded Rose.Gilded Rose threw a gold rose down to the ground, and a large cloud of gold smoke surrounded the group, and when it dissapated, they were all transformed into their civilian identities.   
  
Later that day, they all met at Rae's grandfather's temple for a meeting. Jake was the last to arrive. "Gilded Rose," Artemis said.   
  
"Hello Artemis," Jake said. "Where's Luna? I thought you two always travelled as a team."  
  
"Right here," Luna said, climbing on Jake's shoulder.   
  
"Long time, no see," he said, petting her head. "I'm glad you remember me." He started the meeting. "Well," he said. "It looks like one of my old enemies found me today. I don't know if he knew I was here, or he just lucked out and found me. However, if word gets out that I'm here, some of my other enemies might show up and try to hurt me, or get at me through you. So, you're going to have to keep on your toes while I'm here. I might be able to handle some of them myself, however, if any of you run into them, call me. If you see me battling someone, don't wait for an invitation to give me a hand. I won't ask for your help unless I really need it. However, I won't refuse help. Remember, I'm supposed to risk my life for you, not the other way around."  
  
Later that evening, Amy and Jake were at home, playing chess. They had been playing for about an hour, and it was Jake's turn. He decided to do a castling move, and when he did, Amy captured his queen with her bishop. "Checkmate," she said.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Rhiannon

Sailor Moon-Rhiannon  
by Eugol Dlareg  
  
**Really scary yet necessary legal stuff for you to digest like it was a handfull of pork rinds:** I do not own Sailor Moon. I do not own any of her friends or relatives, either future or in the here and now. They are owned by Toei, which is a movie studio located somewhere in Japan. The "American" names of the characters (the English dub is done in Canada, in case you didn't know. If you ever watch a dubbed episode, and notice a character saying "aboot" for "about", or generally speaking in a Canadian accent, now you know why.) are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. I do, however, own the characters of Jake Slater/Gilded Rose, Rhiannon Foster, and Diane Katzenburg. I am not writing this story for personal profit.   
  
Setting: a couple of months after _Revelations_.   
  
**Fountain Valley, California, the apartment of Diane Katzenburg and Rhiannon Foster.**  
The phone rang. Diane Katzenburg answered it. "Hello," she asid. "Jake!" she said. It's been a while since I talked to you. Usually when you call, Rhiannon answers the phone. How do you like Japan?" There was a pause, while Jake filled his fiancee's roommate on his life the last couple of months. Rhiannon?" she added when Jake finished talking. "She's not here. She left on a trip, and she won't be back for at least a month." Another pause, and she replied "No, I don't know where she went. But she said she'd get in touch with you."  
  
**Tokyo, Japan, the home of Dr. Anderson and her daughter Amy.**  
Jake hung up the phone. He went to his room, turned on the lava lamp, and lay down on the bed. He began to meditate, and was awakened a few minutes later by a knock at the door. He went to answer the door, and found Lita there. "Amy left about an hour and a half ago with her mom," he said.  
  
"Actually, Amy's the one who sent me here,"Lita said. "She asked me to come over and tell you to meet her and her mom at Big Bob's Pizza. She tried to call, but the line was busy. You were calling Rhiannon, weren't you?"  
  
"Yeah," he answered. "Unfortunately, she wasn't home." They walked the four blocks to Big Bob's Pizza. About halfway there, they encountered what looked like a cross between a vampire and a punker. The creature looked at Lita and Jake, and began to shoot beams of energy from its hands at the pair, sending them flying. "Nice to see you too, Draevyn," Jake said to the creature.  
  
"Friend of yours?" Lita asked him.  
  
"I wouldn't call him my friend," Jake said. "He killed a couple of my buddies back home. Did I ever mention I was doing this Gilded Rose schtick for about five years?"  
  
Lita was already contacting the other scouts. After she shut off her communicator, she materialized her transformation wand. "Jupiter Star Power!" she yelled as she transformed. Jake threw a gold rose at his feet and was quickly enveloped in a gold fog. When it dissapated, he had transformed into Gilded Rose. Draevyn shot some more energy bolts at them, and Gilded Rose easily batted them away with his staff. "Aren't you going to use your speed against him?" Sailor Jupiter asked.  
  
"Speed doesn't work against Draevyn," Gilded Rose explained. "He's just as fast as I am. What we need to do is to split up and attack him from more than one side. And keep your distance. His biggest strength is in close attacks."  
  
"Sounds like a plan," Sailor Moon said. She had arrived with Sailor Mini-Moon. "So what do we do now?"  
  
Gilded Rose didn't say a word, he just picked up Mini-Moon, and used his staff to vault to the other side of Draevyn. Jupiter took the cue to get some distance between her and Sailor Moon, and then Gilded Rose vaulted to a nearby fence, bounced off, and landed about 20 yards behind Sailor Jupiter. He placed a rose at one end of his staff, and twirled it over his head, and the staff was now 30 inches in length, and had a gold rose on one end. He gave one command: "Now!"  
  
"Pink sugar heart attack!" yelled Mini-Moon.  
  
"Jupiter lightning storm!" yelled Jupiter.  
  
"Moon spiral heart attack!" yelled Sailor Moon.  
  
When the three sailor scouts made their attacks, Gilded Rose took a running start, and vaulted over Jupiter's shoulders towards Draevyn. Once he reached the apex of his flight, he yelled "Gold rush!" and he became a gold blur flying towards Draevyn. At the last second, he threw a gold rose at the Draevyn's feet, and landed about ten yards away. He twisted the rose, and Draevyn disappeared in a flash of golden light coming from the rose. When he had disappeared, Jake picked up the rose, threw it up in the air, and fired a beam of energy from the opposite end of the staff. The beam hit the rose, and the rose exploded. "I'd like to see him bother me any more," he said, as the four of them transformed back into their civilian identities.  
  
"You mean you didn't kill him?" Rini asked.  
  
"Nah," Jake explained. "I just sent him to another dimension, then destroyed the portal. One of these days, I'm going to have to fix it so he can't find his way back. But, it looks like we won't be seeing him for a while as it is." Changing the subject, he added "What do you say we go meet Amy and her mom at Big Bob's Pizza?"  
  
The four of them walk to the pizza parlour, where they meet Amy.. "You should have been here five minutes ago," said Amy.   
  
"We ran into an old friend of Jake's," said Lita. "Some guy called Draevyn."  
  
"Listen," Jake said. "Dealing with the immortal psychokillers makes me thirsty. I'm going to get a soda."  
  
As he's walking to the counter to get a soda, Rini asks Lita "Does he know yet?"  
  
"He doesn't have a clue," Lita said.   
  
At that moment, Dr. Anderson and a red-haired woman in her early 20s comes over to the table where Amy, Serena, Rini, and Lita are sitting. The red-haired woman walked over to the counter, and Dr. Anderson started counting down. "Five, four, three, two, one, contact."  
  
Jake had ordered his soda, and was about to go for his wallet to pay for it, when a female hand placed some money on the counter. "This one's on me," the voice said.   
  
Jake instantly recognized the voice, as well as the ring on the hand and the polish on her fingernails. "Rhiannon?!?" he said, amazed that she was standing right there. "What are you doing here?" he asked.  
  
"I wanted to surprise you," she said, hugging him. "I had planned to spend some time in Japan, and I figured since you were here, I'd spend it with you. Amy and I planned the whole thing."  
  
The next morning, Jake gave Rhiannon a walking tour of Tokyo. "You mean to tell me," Rhiannon said. "That little pink-haired girl is the Serena's daughter. They must have kids pretty young here in Japan."  
  
"Future daughter," Jake explained. "Rini came here from the future. Don't ask me to explain the whole nuts and bolts of it."  
  
"Okay," she said, and changed the subject. "So I hear Draevyn found you. Where did you put him this time?"  
  
"I'm not sure," he said. "But I did make sure to destroy the portal, so he'll have a hard time getting out."   
  
Later that evening, as Amy and Jake are playing chess, Rhiannon sent an email to her roommate. It read:  
  
_Diane,  
Japan is wonderful, it's everything I imagine Jake must have told you yesterday. I'll be staying here for a while. Send my love to everyone, Rhiannon.  
  
_Meanwhile, Jake and Amy are finishing their chess game. Jake moves his bishop, and then a sly grin crosses Amy's face as she moves her knight. "Checkmate," she said.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Sisters in Spirit (if not by blood)

Sisters in Spirit (if not by blood)  
by Eugol Dlareg  
  
**One of those stupid disclaimers that I don't necessarily like to write (but are a whole lot cheaper than a copyright infringement lawsuit): **I do not own Lita Kino/Sailor Jupiter/Makoto Kino. She is owned by Toei over in Japan and her civilian name belongs to DiC/Cloverway. South Bark is property of Big Dogs sportswear. Marvin the Martian is property of Warner Brothers.  
  
Rhiannon Foster returned from the market. She was toting a canvas bag containing peanuts, pecans, cashews, apple chips, and caramels. She set the bag on the kitchen counter. "Did you start the popcorn yet?" she asked Lita.  
  
"I was waiting for you to get home," Lita replied. "What are we making, anyways?" she asked.  
  
"Snacker Jax," Rhiannon answered, as she went into her room to change. She came out a couple of minutes later, wearing a "South Bark" t-shirt that was a couple of sizes too big, black capri length stretch pants, and Marvin the Martian house slippers. "One of Jake's specialties."  
  
Lita noticed Rhiannon's choice of footwear and barely stifled a chuckle. "What?" Rhiannon asked.  
  
"Your slippers," Lita replied. "I didn't expect to see you wear something like that."  
  
"Oh," Rhiannon replied. "Jake got them for me last Christmas. I'm totally nuts over Marvin the Martian."  
  
"You have made me very, very angry," Lita said in her best Marvin voice.   
  
Now it was Rhiannon's turn to laugh. "Where's my Illudium Pu-38 explosive space modulator?" she replied, in her own Marvin voice.   
  
Lita changed the subject. "Jake told me you're older than him?"  
  
"Yeah," Rhiannon answered. "I'm about a week shy of being a year older than him."  
  
"And that doesn't bother either of you?" Lita said. "I always thought the guy should be the older one. Look at Darrien and Serena."  
  
Lita started the popcorn. While she was popping the corn, Rhiannon melted the caramel. "What do I do now?" Lita asked after the corn finished popping.   
  
"Add the nuts and apple chips," Rhiannon said. "After you mix them, pour the caramel over it and mix well. Then you let it sit for a few minutes to cool off."  
  
They made the snacker jax. While it was cooling, Lita went to turn on her stereo. "You like KISS?" she asked.  
  
"Sure," Rhiannon said. "In fact, Jake and my first date was a KISS concert."  
  
"Jake at a KISS concert?" Lita asked, with a hint of surprise in her voice.   
  
"I never thought I'd be engaged to a guy who shows up for our first date in KISS makeup," Rhiannon said.  
  
"You're kidding," Lita said. "Which one did he go as?"  
  
"Paul."  
  
"Oh my god!" Lita said, and burst out laughing at the thought.  
  
"Don't laugh," Rhiannon said. "He actually looked cute."  
  
By this time, the snacker jax was sufficiently cooled, and the girls sat down and snacked while the stereo played the _Destroyer_ cd. At the beginning of the song _Sweet Pain_, Rhiannon said "This song brings back memories."  
  
"How so?" Lita asked.  
  
"That was what Jake and I were listening to the first time we made love," Rhiannon said.  
  
"You mea, you two. . . ?" Lita asked, making a circle with the thumb and forefinger of her left hand, and placing the forefinger of her right hand in the circle.  
  
"Yeah," Rhiannon said. "We've made love a few times. I always thought my first time would be my wedding night, but when I met Jake, I knew he was the one I'd spend my life with."   
  
Rhiannon changed the subject. "I'm guessing you're Sailor Jupiter," she told Lita.  
  
"How did you know?" Lita asked.  
  
"Jake and I don't keep secrets from each other," Rhiannon said. "He told me about the Sailor Scouts. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I could never betray Jake's trust."  
  
"So who else knows you know our secret?" Lita asked.  
  
"Amy and Mina," Rhiannon said. "Besides, I have a feeling we're going to become good friends, almost like sisters," she reassured Lita.  
  
"It's going to be fun having you live here with me while you're staying in Japan," Lita said. "I get lonely sometimes."  
  
"You know," Rhiannon said. "You're like the sister I never had."  
  
"I have a feeling we're going to get along fine," Lita said, giving Rhiannon a hug.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
